A Mouse in His Pocket (Chapter 2)

Although this story is sweet in terms of romance (no sex), it contains spanking scenes that may not be suitable for persons under 18. Please do not proceed if you are not a legal adult in your jurisdiction.

Welcome back to this little bit of Christmas cheer. This is the 2nd and final chapter of A Mouse in His Pocket. If you haven’t read the first chapter yet, you can find it here. The complete story is also available on Bethany’s Woodshed as a free read.

Chapter 2

It was four days before Christmas, and Buck sat in front of the store window staring at the sparkling display of gifts. He could change his mind in the four days upcoming, but that seemed awfully unlikely.

Maybe Jenny wouldn’t like it. He thought he knew her, but the fact was that they hadn’t been together a long time. And, there was no getting around the little detail of his disability. Maybe she was humoring him until she got bored.

No. That wouldn’t be like Jenny, his little mouse.

He took a deep breath and rolled into the store. When he was done there, he put the box in his pocket, picked up a newspaper and hoped for the best.

Buck spent a couple of hours in the local coffee bar, reading the paper and trying not to dwell on his Christmas gift for Jenny. It wasn’t easy, though, the front page was dominated by the recent disappearance of two female UNLV students. The women had disappeared three days prior from one of the parking structures, but details were murky. One car was missing, but the other one was still parked there, where they’d last been seen together. Foul play was suspected.

He didn’t like the fact that Jenny was on the nearly deserted campus, doing her end-of-semester clean-up in the studio, alone. Worried, he called her cell, but only got voicemail. He left a message asking her to call as soon as possible.

Two more hours crawled by and he still hadn’t heard from her. He was at home, by now, and even holiday music and the bright decorations around his house couldn’t cheer him up. He drew the box out of his pocket and looked at it. Decided, he cursed and went for his coat. He was buttoning it up when his phone rang.

“Hi, Buck!”

“Jenny… I’ve been waiting to hear from you. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, fine. Why? What’s wrong?”

“Haven’t you read the papers or watched the local news?”

“Well, sure, I read the paper this morning before school. You sound upset.”

“I am upset. It’s dangerous for you to be there by yourself right now.”

“It’s okay, I won’t be much longer.”

“Why didn’t you return my phone call?”

“Oh, my phone was out of charge. I forgot to plug it in.” There was a pause. “I’m sorry, Buck.”

“You had me worried, little mouse. Girls have gone missing from the campus.”

“I didn’t think.”

“Are you done at school?”

“Yes.”

“Come over. We’ll talk about it when you get here.”

* * *

Buck’s kisses always made her toes curl, and combined with satisfaction over getting her things wrapped up at school, and the lovely holiday cheer all over town, she was in a good mood when she got to his house.

He was genial, but distracted. When she asked about it, he answered with a question.

“I don’t want you to feel like I’m making unreasonable demands on you, Jenny. Is that how you feel?”

She’d never forget that first experience, and she dreaded the idea of doing it again. Her butt had been tender for a whole day after that spanking. It was the way of things, with Buck, though. He wanted her to think before doing. In many ways, she liked that he wasn’t wishy-washy. She knew where she stood. Affection-maybe even love-was the guiding force behind his requirements. Guilt over worrying him ate at her, too. She wanted that gone.

“Pants down?”

He nodded and slipped his belt off while she watched, hoping against hope that it was something else, some comfort thing that made him remove it.

“You’re gonna use that?”

He nodded again.

“On me?”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Mouse…”

“Okay. Okay.” Her sweat pants slid down her hips, but she paused and shot him a look before doing more.

“Stalling will only get you extras, Jennifer.”

Sighing, she pulled her panties down, too, and looked between him and the chair.

“Kneel on the chair with your fanny sticking out, hands on the back.”

She obeyed, and then glanced at him. He nodded, and swing his arm, the belt whistling through the air. Jenny gasped and flinched at the first stroke, the second, and the third.

“You will be more careful in the future,” he told her, swacking her several more times.

Welts swelled on her flaming butt. “Yes, sir!” She was trying to be stoic but it wasn’t working; all she could do was cringe and beg. “Please, no more!”

“Yes, more. I won’t tolerate you putting yourself in danger. I love you, Jenny, and this must never happen again.”

Her beleaguered mind tried to wrap itself around that thought, and tears came to her eyes. “Ow!” Even while her butt burned and smarted, her heart swelled with something sweet. “You love me?”

She’d suspected, but she had never given herself permission to believe it. “Oh my goodness, Buck. Oh, Buck!”

He smacked her again with the belt. “Don’t ’oh, Buck’ me. I’m not forgetting your bad behavior that easily.” The longest series yet rained down on her behind, but her joy at his admission outweighed the excruciating pain on her rear. Still, it hurt and her tears were heartfelt. She was disappointed in herself for her thoughtlessness, and knew she deserved every stroke of the belt.

“I’m sorry!” She couldn’t take anymore. Her butt was screaming with pain like she was screaming into her hands as they grasped the top of the chair, white-knuckled.

“You understand what you did wrong?”

“Yes!”

“You won’t do it again?”

“No! Never! I promise!” The words were lost in her blubbering, but, thankfully, Buck didn’t ask her to repeat them. Instead, he stopped spanking her and she heard him shift in his chair.

“You were naughty, Jen. Better behavior from now on, okay?”

She raised her head and nodded, whispering, “Yes, sir.”

“Come sit in my lap. I think some hugs are in order.”

Still sobbing and dripping tears, Jenny crawled into his lap and snuggled up against his broad chest. He was so big in comparison to her; she was enveloped and enfolded by his warmth. He never smothered her; there was always room to breathe, both physically against him, and emotionally. He loved her. He loved her! Even her sore butt couldn’t tarnish that, not ever.

* * *

The Coopers invited Buck to have a holiday dinner with them on December 23. They celebrated their family Christmas on December 24, but Jenny didn’t want him to feel like he didn’t matter.

The dinner had gone well, her family polite, and even her sister behaving, if not with charm, at least without venom. In fact, Mary smiled when Buck volunteered to help with the dishes after dinner. The pair started up a friendly conversation as they went into the kitchen, and all was well in Jenny’s world.

Until Mary came screaming out into the living room.

“He’s a pig! He groped me!”

Jenny’s parents rose from their chairs and so did Jenny, her hands going over her mouth.

“What happened?” asked their father.

“He grabbed my butt!”

Her parents looked at each other, and Buck rolled into the room.

“Keep him away from me!” Mary raced around, putting the sofa between them.

Buck didn’t say anything, his mouth a grim line.

Mr. Cooper wasn’t satisfied with his silence. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Mary is lying. Nothing happened. We were doing the dishes and she suddenly ran out of the room. I don’t know why.” Buck’s voice was careful, his jaw tight.

“It’s a lie. He’s lying! He grabbed me!” Mary screeched.

“Oh, Buck,” Jenny breathed, feeling like her heart was crushed. How could he do this? Yes, Mary was the beauty of the family, but they had nothing in common. Maybe it was because Mary was easy. Men went for easy women, didn’t they? And, Jenny…well, he hadn’t asked her for sex at all. Sure he seemed interested-how could a man not react physically to a woman sitting in his lap? But, aside from kisses, that’s all there had been. Maybe he couldn’t stand it anymore. Jenny should have seen this coming and made herself more available to Buck. It was all her fault.

He gave her a sharp look, the lines at the sides of his mouth deepening. “You don’t believe this, do you, Jennifer?”

“Oh, God!” Jenny couldn’t stand it, tears forming in her eyes and beginning a trail down her cheeks. “Buck…”

He nodded once and made for the door, grabbing his coat off the hall credenza as he passed. “There’s nothing more to say.”

Jenny wanted to say something-anything-to make things right. She followed him out the door and down the make-shift ramp on the stairs. “Buck, I know you didn’t mean it.”

He stopped and turned to look at her, his eyes glittering with anger. She’d never seen him angry like this. “You must really think I’m stupid, Jennifer. You must have no respect for me at all. Do you think I would make a pass at your sister, in your home, with your parents and you right there? Do I seem that stupid to you? I told you I love you, Jenny. I thought we had built respect and trust between us.”

“I…uh…” She trusted him. Or she did. Or she wanted to. “But why would Mary say that?”

“I have no idea. She’s got her own agenda. You’ll have to ask her.”

“She’s so much prettier and sexier than me,” Jenny said with a feeling of defeat. “I don’t blame you. It’s my fault.”

He made a cutting gesture. “If that’s what you think of me, we have nothing to say to each other.”

Jenny watched him roll away to his car and an icy hand closed over her insides, squeezing all the life out of her. She ran back into the house and straight to her room.

The night was long and sleepless for her. Jenny cried for a long time and tried to think of all the angles for the situation. She had no reason to distrust Buck, but more than a few reasons to distrust her venal sister. Mary did have her own agenda, as Buck pointed out, but what was it? Could there be any truth to it?

The next morning, exhausted and angry at the whole world, Jenny decided to get more of the story from Mary.

“Mary…” she called, as she walked through the short hallway toward the younger woman’s room. “I want to talk–”

Mary’s voice carried through the door. “So I ran out, screaming to my parents that he was trying to feel me up!” She laughed. “Yeah, I know. Imagine a gimp like that… Is that gross, or what? But they believed me. They’re so stupid.” Again Mary laughed, and the top of Jennifer’s head should have blown off, she was so angry.

The conversation wasn’t over, though. “My fuckin’ sister will never date that cripple again, I’m sure. What a loser.”

Jenny had heard enough. “Mary!”

“Gotta go–”

Barging into the room, Jenny grabbed the cellphone from Mary’s hand and closed it. “I heard you, you bitch! I heard what you said. Why did you do it?”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Liar! You accused a wonderful man of something awful. I can’t believe that you’d do something that cruel, that vicious!”

“Miss Goody Two-shoes,” Mary said with a sneer, rising off her bed, her hands balled into fists at her sides. “Always being the good girl. Always making the good grades. Creating the pretty clay crap. Well, I hate you! I hope you never find someone to love you!”

Jenny’s anger evaporated like so many droplets of water in a hot pan. Faced with her perfect sister’s feelings of inadequacy, she had nothing to say. A woman who should have everything, but couldn’t seem to appreciate the things she had was pitiful. “I feel sorry for you, Mary.”

Nodding, Jenny walked away, closing the door softly as she left. She could hear Mary weeping as she hurried down the hall. The young woman’s own self-hatred would be the worst punishment of all.

Jenny had to get to Buck. She had to apologize and try to make things right. He might never want to see her again, and she wouldn’t blame him for that. Of course he wouldn’t be so stupid as to make a pass at her sister! He’d never do that to Jenny. Never. She’d been a fool to think so for even one moment. He would probably never forgive her, but he deserved her apology.

* * *

Buck had sat up all night, dressed his same clothes, drinking coffee and thinking. He’d taken the box out of its safe place and stared at it for hours. It had been too much to hope for. Jenny didn’t respect him. And without respect, how could she ever love him? He was angry, disappointed, and yet accepted the truth of his situation as well. Jenny thought that because he hadn’t insisted on sleeping with her, he wanted sex and didn’t care where he found it.

Sex had never been the issue for him. He’d been intimate with women over the years, and it was important, of course, but it wasn’t what he was about. He respected Jenny. He wanted her to be comfortable, secure, in love with him before they made that transition in their relationship. She was not a casual lover.

And now she was no kind of lover at all.

When the doorbell rang, he put the box away and ran a hand over his darkly-stubbled face. Whoever it was, was going to have to look at him unkempt. Life’s a bitch.

The bell was followed by an insistent knock. “Buck! Buck, please let me in.”

He stopped in the little foyer, staring at the door. Jenny. Should he open it? Could they have words together? Had she come to return some borrowed item or to bring back the temporary ramp they’d put on her parents front steps?

The ramp was likely. He needed it. Sort of.

She was standing there, her brows furrowed with worry when he opened the door. He did not invite her in; he didn’t think he could bear seeing her in his home again. Not that he couldn’t move on, but because he was hurting inside. The hurt was a heavy rock in his belly.
“Jenny. What do you want?” His voice sounded tired, and he cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to apologize. I want to try to make things right.” She looked at him, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “I know you can’t forgive me…but let me say I’m sorry. Please.”

“Okay. You’re sorry. I’m sorry, too. I thought we had a future together. Something to look forward to. I was wrong.” He moved to close the door. Everything that needed to be said had been said.

She put her hand on the screen, unable to get to the door. “Please. Don’t close the door. Please let me come in. There’s more I want to say.”

Jenny met his eyes. But she’d said her apologies already. Still, he didn’t want her attracting curious neighbors. They’d seen her come and go already. They’d wonder. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Thank you,” she said, coming inside and closing the door behind her.

He sat quietly, giving her a chance to say her piece and kicking himself for loving her despite everything. He guessed it took those strong emotions a while to die down.

“Buck… I made a huge mistake. I should have realized right away that Mary was lying. She’s been nasty about our relationship all along, but I didn’t realize…I’m afraid she’s screwed up inside.”

He’d pretty much already come to the conclusion that Mary was a piece of work. Jenny wasn’t telling him anything he hadn’t already figured out. “Okay.”

She paused, looking down at her feet.

“Is there more?”

Her gaze went to his and her voice took on a note of desperation. “I want to make things right between us, Buck. I don’t want us to break up. I love you. Please accept my apology.”

She looked tortured, and his heart went out to her. Hurt from the night before hadn’t left him, but he believed that she regretted her behavior.

“Apology accepted.”

“Buck, I…” She bit her lower lip, then went on. “I deserve to be punished. I deserve a spanking.”

That was a surprise. “Are you asking me to spank you, Jenny?”

“Yes. Yes, even if we can’t get back together. I deserve it. I need it.”

Spanking was a kind of intimacy. He couldn’t do it and not feel close to her afterward. And if he spanked her, it would have to be severe. If he was going to forgive her—and he knew that’s where it would lead—he had to make sure he could let go of his resentment, and that she’d never hurt him that way again.

“Alright.” He eyed her coat. “You know what to do. I’ll be right back.”

In his bedroom, in a drawer, was a riding crop. It had come from a woman he’d known a few years prior. The relationship was long over, but the riding crop remained. It was a harsh implement, but would get the point across unmistakably.

When he came back out, she was standing in front of his comfy chair, her lower half bare. He couldn’t help but be stirred by the sight of her. He was a man and wasn’t about to deny that to himself. But there was an innocence about Jenny that overrode his instinct to possess in a sexual way. He wanted to nurture and protect her. He wanted her to come to him with hurts and triumphs, and be more to him than a body.

She eyed the riding crop sitting across his lap, and her eyes closed tight for a moment. Opened again, there were tears, but they didn’t fall down her cheeks. She looked resigned. When she took a step away from his chair, giving him room to climb in, he shook his head.

“No. This time, I want you over the arm of the chair. Get a pillow and put your face on it, in the seat of the chair, with your belly over the arm.”

She moved around the room and lay across the chair as he’d instructed. “Like this?”

“Yeah.” He rolled over to her and gave her a chance to back out. He was going to give her what she deserved, but he wanted to make sure she understood what that meant. “I don’t plan to let up on this, Jenny. You really need to think first in the future.”

Nodding, she turned her face toward him. “I know. I know it’ll be bad. But I was bad. I was stupid and didn’t think things through. I know you love me-loved me-but I didn’t think about what that meant. And I treated you with total disrespect. I know you’re too smart, and too good a man to do something like that. I know it.” She closed her eyes. “I deserve whatever you think.”

Without a word, he swung the crop, flicking his wrist. She flinched and a red mark appeared on her white behind. He flicked a few more times and she flinched more. On the fifth stroke, the first welt appeared and she cried out softly.

He concentrated on her buttocks for a time, applying the strokes at varying intervals. He didn’t want her to begin to anticipate them. The red marks and welts accumulated, and he’d been over the area twice, so he moved the crop down her thighs, reserving the juncture of thigh and bottom for last.

She was crying now, the sounds muffled in the pillow. He could hear her sobs and see the tension in her body as she tried to shrink from the pain.

Her thighs reddened, the marks there swollen and harsh. After thirty lashes to her thighs, he moved the crop to the most tender part of her butt, the place where thigh met bottom. She moaned and screamed as he spanked her with the crop in that tender area.

When she began to beg, he knew they were nearing the end of the punishment. He punctuated his reminders with whacks. “Do you want me to forgive you?”

“Y-yes!”

It was hard to understand her, but he could. “Do you want us to get back together?”

“Yes, p-please! Please!”

“Are you going to treat me with this kind of disrespect again?”

“Oh God!” She cringed at the sound of the crop whistling. “No! No, I won’t. I love you, Buck! I won’t forget.”

“Don’t forget. I won’t punish you for this again. We’ll just go our separate ways. Permanently.”

“I’m sorry! I don’t want that-I don’t ever want that!”

He spanked her a few more times, the silence broken by the crop clapping on her red, swollen bottom. The marks were deep, but he’d not done her any real harm. She’d be sore for a few days, a reminder to her not to make the same mistake again.

Buck realized that she’d make other mistakes in the future, probably mistakes leading to punishment, but he wasn’t so arrogant as to believe that he was unable to make mistakes himself. Although he would not receive external punishment—he was not a submissive man in any way—his internal punishment and recriminations were enough to keep him from erring the same way over and over again.

He put the crop down and waited for her sobs to subside before telling her to move out of the chair. She stood, shaky, her face as red as her bottom, her eye makeup smudged, a pitiful and dejected look on her face. Buck had been harsh, but he knew it had been appropriate. She deserved to be physically miserable for a time, but she’d feel better about herself emotionally, knowing that she’d been punished and it was over.

After levering himself into the chair, he patted his lap and then opened his arms to her. She was quick to accept his hug, even while she was extremely ginger about sitting on her fanny.

The warmth of her breath against his chest was soothing. Muscles he hadn’t realized were tense began to loosen.

“I’m sorry, Buck. Am I forgiven now?”

“Yeah, I’ve forgiven you. Have you?”

“I’m working at it. This helps.”

He ran a hand through the fine silk of her hair. “I’m glad, little mouse. I love you.”

* * *

“Merry Christmas!” Buck’s family chorused as she came into their home the next morning. Cousins, friends and their kids were included in the noisy festivities, and a dog raced around, scattering crumpled wrapping paper.

Buck was in his element, surrounded by family and friends. It made Jenny feel special to be included in their gathering. The bruises on her butt were the smallest price to pay for being a part of his life. And they reminded her that she needed-wanted-to be more mindful of her behavior in the future, lest she lose all of this out of stupidity.

The conversations were lively, including some good-natured arguments about politics. And there were a lot of “thank God” exclamations over the return of the two missing UNLV students, unharmed. Turned out they had gotten high and took an unscheduled trip to Mexico. After a few days in Cancun, they’d returned to their senses and come back home.

After Christmas dinner, Buck offered to take her to another holiday display he’d discovered, tucked away on a cul-de-sac nearby on the reservation. They bundled up and drove for a few minutes.

The display was at a tiny neighborhood park. As they got out of the SUV, Jenny was touched by the tender care the residents had taken to make their park a special part of their Christmas celebration. There were lights, plastic snowmen, glitter snowflakes hanging from the tree branches. And in the middle, right in the heart of the little square, was a Christmas tree. Lights shone and flickered all over it, and children’s pipe-cleaner ornaments were sprinkled though the branches.

“It’s beautiful, Buck. Thank you for bringing me here.”

He grinned. “I’m glad you like it.” Taking her hand, he put a box in its palm. “I have a present for you. Merry Christmas.”

“Buck…” She opened the little box, and there on the black velvet was a diamond engagement ring-a sparkling stone flanked by smaller emeralds. She stared in amazement. “Oh my goodness…”

“The emeralds are the same color as your eyes were when I first met you.”

Jenny had never been so ecstatic in her life. She couldn’t think of words to say.

“Will you marry me, little mouse?”

“Oh, yes!” She grabbed him and held him tight, raining kisses all over his face, loving the broad smile there, the bright shine of his eyes, his hair in her hands. She kissed him hungrily.

He returned her ardor, then pulled back a bit. “Let’s save some of that for the wedding night. If we get too busy now…I don’t think I’ll want to stop.”

She wanted to give him that part of her. The part she’d saved for the right person at the right time and the right circumstances. But this was not the place.

“With that in mind, mouse, will you mind if we get hitched in Las Vegas? You probably want a big wedding and all…”

She had never given much thought to wedding cakes and bridal gowns. “When?”

“New Year’s Eve?”

“Yes! What a perfect way to begin the year—together.”

He took her hands and kissed her knuckles. “Together. You’ll be like a mouse in my pocket, sweetheart. Close to my heart all the time.”